CLEVELAND – The Southern New Hampshire University athletic department has finished 23rd out of 251 NCAA Division II institutions that were ranked following the final release of the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings – its highest finish in department history – as it garnered 481.50 points. SNHU's previous best finish was 41st in the 2015-16 season.
The Penmen, who claimed their second consecutive NE10 Presidents' Cup earlier this month, were not only the top department in the NE10, but in the entire NCAA Division II East Region. The next closest institution was Adelphi University (28th; 465.50) with Franklin Pierce University following (63rd; 303.00). Thomas Jefferson University (69th; 292) was the top finisher from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), while St. Thomas Aquinas College (91st; 228.50) was first amongst East Coast Conference (ECC) institutions. They were the only two from their respective leagues to finish in the top 100, which included six NE10 schools.
Southern New Hampshire, meanwhile, finishes in the top 100 for the 10th consecutive final standings release (the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings were not tabulated in 2019-20 or 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Penmen have steadily improved since being ranked 138th more than a decade ago, including four straight top-80 finishes that culminated in their previous top showing at No. 41 in 2015-16. After four more top-80 placements, including a second-best 61st in the last standings release prior to the pandemic in 2018-19, SNHU beats its previous highest finish by 18 spots for its first top-25 recognition.
Since Director of Athletics & Recreation Anthony Fallacaro took over prior to the start of the 2013-14 season, the Penmen have not checked in lower than 88th, have four top-75 finishes and have now placed in the top 50 on a pair of occasions. During his eight years the standings have been kept, SNHU has an average finish of 64.88, while in the seven years prior (only the top 100 schools in the standings were ranked before 2006-07 and SNHU was not in the top 100 in 2005-06), the department placed in the top 100 just twice and averaged a 149.57 finish in the standings.
SNHU, which was 14th after the fall standings release with 169.00 points and then 33rd following the winter release with 269.00 points, amassed 212.5 points in the spring to solidify its spot in the top 25. The Penmen received a department-best 83 points from baseball, which earned its 11th NCAA postseason bid, won a pair of games at the NCAA National Championship and advanced to the semifinal round as one of four teams remaining in the nation for the second time in program history. Men's tennis added 50 points for its 10th NCAA berth and receiving a bye into the second round of the NCAA Championship. Men's golf made the regional field for the 12th time and contributed 36 points for its 10th-place finish at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional. Women's tennis kicked in 25 points for its NCAA Championship berth, which was its seventh overall and first since 2017. Women's outdoor track & field chipped 18.5 points, as Ashley Corcoran (East Longmeadow, Mass.) finished seventh in the 3000m Steeplechase in 10:37.35 at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
In the winter, the Penmen collected 50 points in both men's and women's basketball, which each advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship. It was the 21st NCAA selection and first since 2017 for the men, while the women punched their ticket for the fourth time, including the second straight season.
In the fall, SNHU gathered a then-department-best 73 points in women's volleyball, which claimed the NCAA East Region title and was one of eight teams in the nation left standing after making its first trip to the NCAA National Championship. Women's cross country received 42 points for its 32nd-place finish at its second NCAA National Championship. The Penmen collected 29 points in men's cross country, which saw individual Jacob Logan (Norwood, Mass.) advance to Nationals, as well as 25 additional points from women's soccer, which earned its eighth NCAA Championship berth in program history and bowed out in the first round.
The LEARFIELD Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.
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